Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-11-18

is known is that she sailed from her port
and was never heard of more"
The bugle now pealed out on the night
the "Retire," warning everyone OF the
upper deck out the watch; and the cpl
sode was over.
1t was not anticipated that this third
Burmese war Of ours, which was expect
ed to be species of military promenade,
would end in series Of bloody and dis
sstrous Dacoitie conflicts and skirmishes
and would eventually cost Us the life Of
the gallant Mcpherson, one of our most
splendid officers.
With the actual cause of the war our
narrative has little more to do than our
soldiers had, as they had but to obey their
orders.
Suffice 1t to say that since the acces-
sion of King Theebaw in October, 1873,
ne had continued series Of insults and
dangerous intrigues against Us. that
could not fail to justify the government
in annexing a country that had become q
source Of neril and annoyance to our
Indian Empire, and those outrages began
| with the illusage of our people in Man
dalay, some of whom were tortured
drawn neck and heels together and hung
head wards-for purposes OF extor-
ton. His swordsmen boarded our steam
ers, carried of the passengers OF both
sexes and all ages. Then came the gen
eral slaughter Of the entire royal family,
without provocation, on many successive
nights, in prison; and the bodies were
| heaped up in holes. Touching tales were
told of W men and children pleading for
life IN vain, till their cries ceased under
the bludgeons or strsngling fingers OF
their drunken executioners. Ga Sunday,
the 10th of February, 1879-according to
| the Blue B0ok-"eight cart loads OF
bodies of Princes, of the Blood were con-
veyed out of the city by the funeral
gate and throw WI into the river" One Of
the Queens maid of honor. a handsome
girl, was put to death on q false accuse
(tion, by means of unparalleled atrocity,
yet she received only seven blows, and
died though she was young and strong
Ambassadors were put to the swords; sand
bands of men, whom Theebaw's oppres.
sion ruined, raided all the villages on our
| frontiers.
In October, 1884, there occurred the
slaughter of Mandalay, IN which 800 per
sons, many of them British ubjecte,
persisted; and the event Is thus described
hy an eyewitness:
"Fhe sequel to the massacre was as
| horrible as that CHASTITY incident Itself
Some of the heads Of the victims were
stuck upon bamboos in the cemetery,
where the scene, when L visited 1t, was
| appalling. The King gave orders tina
the dead men were not to be buried for
three days, so that people might see what
g terrible thing it was to incur his
displeasure; and they We're mu-
tilated bodies lying in CHASTITY and
fostering he APPS, riddled with shot and
hacked to pieces beyond all recognition,
while number of fiends in human shape
were actually chopping off arms and legs
to save the manecles and shackles. Mt
only that; pat the dead and the dying had
been csrted of together, and in some
cases the quiverlng of limb told that the
death agony was not yet over. When l
visited the cemetery the work of inter
ment had begun, and the dead men were
being huddled, four or five together, into
shallow graves, with only foot OF earth
to cover them. The pigs and pariah dogs
had already been fesstirg on the slain,
and their banquet will be continued after
the sections have withdrawn. In strik-
| Ing contrast 10 lnls plCGuTet saw 4lSLlS
children playing about. all unconscious
of their terrible surroundings. Mean
while, the rutfisn king and his court have
been holding high festival. He rewarded
all those who took part in the slaughter,
the butcher who could boast of the most
victims receiving the richest reward"
(The Burmese Blue Book
Other butcheries followed, and mean
while the King hurried on his alliance
with France, which proposed to occupy
Ara, and join hands with this wretch who
WAS half mailman and whole demon.
II short, save Theebaw, no such awful
moloch had called himself king since the
DAYS of Henry VIII.
Our troops, officers and men alike,
we're full of hearty good Will to punish
in the common cause OF humanity-1his
dreadful Theebaw; and this was why We
went to Burmsh, so for the time gossip,
pigsticking and tiger hunting stories gave
place to new interests in the land Of the
white elephant.
ITO be Continued Ne1t Week